New York nightlife is split across two boroughs and held together by one subway system. Manhattan has the cocktail bars of the Lower East Side and the East Village, the rooftops and table service around the Meatpacking District, and the gay bars of Hell's Kitchen. Brooklyn and the edge of Queens have the clubs people travel for, from Good Room in Greenpoint to Basement under Knockdown Center. Bars stop serving at 04:00 by state law, but the subway runs all night, so nobody races for a last train. Expect $10–30 at the door of a good club. Worth knowing: bars and club nights are 21+ with no exceptions, so carry your passport.
Ranked by popularity. Tap a card for opening hours, door tips, getting there and tickets.
For the drinks before and after. Hours, prices and the best nights are on each page.
The bars close at 04:00, the subway never does. New York State law stops alcohol sales from 04:00 to 08:00, and until 10:00 on Sunday. Some clubs keep the music going past last call: Basement runs until 07:00 on Fridays, and the Nonstop parties at Nowadays go from Saturday night into Sunday. The trains are still running when you leave.
The clubs worth the trip are in Brooklyn and just over the Queens line. Elsewhere, House of Yes and Paragon are in Bushwick; Knockdown Center, Basement and Nowadays sit a few minutes further east in Maspeth and Ridgewood. Manhattan does cocktails, rooftops and bottle service. Most visitors drink in one and dance in the other.
Buy the ticket before you leave the bar. The serious rooms sell through Resident Advisor, DICE or their own sites, with prices that rise in tiers: Good Room runs $10–30 depending on how early you buy, and Nowadays charges $10 with an RSVP before 23:00 against $30 and up later. The doors are relaxed by Berlin standards, but the 21+ rule is not negotiable.
Basement, Knockdown Center, Good Room and Nowadays book international and local names every weekend, and the rooms are built around the sound.
PDT, Death & Co, Attaboy and Double Chicken Please are a short walk apart downtown, and all four have international reputations.
Basement goes until 07:00, Nowadays runs Nonstop from Saturday night into Sunday, and the subway gets you home whatever the hour.
House of Yes runs themed nights with a variety show every Friday and Saturday. Le Bain and Marquee want a sharper outfit.
Hell's Kitchen has a cluster of gay bars led by Industry, open until 04:00 every night with drag and DJs from about 23:00. The Brooklyn clubs run strict anti-harassment rules.
Marquee sells tables from around $1,500, and Le Bain and Westlight take reservations for the views.
Not for you if you are under 21. Every bar and club checks ID, and there is no way around it.
Early drinks. PDT, Attaboy and Double Chicken Please open their doors, and Industry pours two-for-one until 21:00.
Dinner, or a cocktail bar in the East Village or on the Lower East Side before the seats run out.
Club doors. Good Room, Knockdown Center and House of Yes open at 22:00, Paragon at 21:30 and Basement at 22:30.
The Brooklyn rooms fill. The L train to Jefferson St or Morgan Av is the main route out to Bushwick.
Last call. Bars stop serving, Marquee and Le Bain close, and the subway takes the crowd home.
Basement turns the lights on. On Saturdays, Nowadays' Nonstop keeps going into Sunday.
The club under Knockdown Center in Maspeth runs techno all night on Fridays. No phones on the dancefloor and no photos at all.
Attaboy on Eldridge Street has no menu; Double Chicken Please on Allen Street makes drinks that taste like dishes. They are a few minutes apart.
Step into the booth inside Crif Dogs on St Marks Place, announce yourself, and the wall opens. Book on Resy first.
Mister Sunday runs from 15:00 to 21:00 in the Ridgewood garden, with an early-RSVP discount and food from the kitchen.
The top floor of The Standard, High Line opens at 16:00 on weekdays and 14:00 at the weekend, then turns into a club.
Aerialists, a variety show and a crowd in costume, a minute from the Jefferson St subway stop. Phones stay off the dancefloor.
Elsewhere, House of Yes and Paragon in Bushwick, Pacha New York on the old Brooklyn Mirage site in East Williamsburg, and Knockdown Center, Basement and Nowadays just over the border in Queens. The L train is the spine.
Gabriela on Wythe Avenue for disco and house, and Westlight on the 22nd floor of The William Vale for the view. Busier and pricier than Bushwick.
Good Room on Meserole Avenue has two rooms, a d&b system and twelve years of house, disco and techno. Nassau Av on the G is the nearest stop.
The former ASPCA building on Butler Street, with a quadraphonic Sound Room, a garden called The Nursery and club nights until 04:00 at the weekend.
Attaboy and Double Chicken Please, a few streets apart. Time Out ranked it first among the city's going-out neighbourhoods in 2024.
PDT behind the phone booth on St Marks Place and Death & Co on East 6th Street, both open late and both worth booking or arriving early for.
Le Bain at The Standard, Marquee a few blocks north in West Chelsea, and Employees Only in the West Village, pouring until 04:00.
Industry on West 52nd Street and a cluster of gay bars west of Times Square, open late every night of the week.
Every bar and club night is 21+, and the door checks ID: Elsewhere asks for a valid, scannable US government photo ID or a foreign passport. The Brooklyn clubs care about behaviour more than clothes. Basement bans photos and phone use on the dancefloor, House of Yes bans phone photos on the floor, and Basement removes anyone who breaks its house rules. Manhattan is different: Marquee turns away shorts, caps and athletic wear, and at Le Bain an RSVP does not guarantee entry.
Most Brooklyn club nights cost $10–30. Good Room charges $10–30 depending on the booking and how early you buy, Paragon $25 at the weekend and Gabriela $5–20. Nowadays costs $10 with an RSVP before 23:00 and $30 or more later. Pacha New York and Knockdown Center sell their own tickets and price each night separately, and Marquee tables start at around $1,500.
The subway runs 24 hours a day. A ride costs $3 with a contactless card or phone through OMNY, with a free transfer within two hours and a $35 weekly cap. Late at night some lines run shorter routes or skip stops for maintenance, so check before you set off. A yellow cab starts at $3, plus 70 cents per fifth of a mile and a $1 overnight surcharge.
| Club entry (Brooklyn) | $10–30 (€9–27) |
| Nowadays with an early RSVP | $10–15 (€9–13) |
| Paragon, weekend ticket | $25 (€22) |
| Gabriela, club night | $5–20 (€4–18) |
| Marquee table, minimum | From $1,500 (€1,340) |
| Subway ride, any hour | $3 (€2.70) |
| Subway weekly cap | $35 (€31) |
| Yellow cab, 5 miles at night | About $25–30 (€22–27) |
An early RSVP at Nowadays for $10 and the subway there and back.
A $25–30 ticket at Paragon or Good Room, the subway out and a cab home.
A table at Marquee starts there, before tax, tip or a cab.
Everything is 21+ and doors scan ID. A foreign driving licence may not be enough at the stricter doors.
Entry is $10 before 23:00 and $15 before midnight with an RSVP, against $30 or more later.
Basement bans photos and phones on the dancefloor, House of Yes bans phone photos, and Nowadays asks you to put it away.
Elsewhere and House of Yes have no re-entry. Smoke, call or get air before you go in.
MetroCards were discontinued at the start of 2026. Tap a contactless card or phone: $3 a ride, and after 12 paid rides in seven days the rest are free.
Tipping is expected in the US, and bar staff depend on it. Leave something on every round, and factor it into the price of a night.
Alcohol can be served everywhere in New York State except from 04:00 to 08:00, or 10:00 on Sunday. Counties can set an earlier last call, and some upstate towns close at 01:00.
The 50,000-square-foot building in Maspeth went up in 1903 for a glass company and became the Manhattan Door Factory in 1956.
The open-air club closed in May 2025, was demolished, and reopened on the same site in June 2026 as Pacha New York, the Ibiza brand's first permanent venue in North America.
The bar opened next to Crif Dogs on St Marks Place in May 2007 and won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Bar Program in 2012.
Alcohol service stops at 04:00 by state law, every day of the week. Most bars and clubs close then, but a few keep the music going: Basement runs until 07:00 on Fridays, and Nowadays' Nonstop parties continue into Sunday.
21, with no exceptions. Bars and club nights check ID at the door, so bring a passport or a scannable US photo ID. Some concerts at venues such as Elsewhere are 16+ or 18+, but the club nights are 21+.
Yes, 24 hours a day, every day. A ride costs $3 with OMNY. Late at night some lines run shorter routes or skip stops, so check before you travel.
Bushwick for clubs, with Knockdown Center, Basement and Nowadays just over the Queens line. The Lower East Side and East Village for cocktail bars, the Meatpacking District for rooftops and table service, and Hell's Kitchen for gay bars.
Usually $10–30. Good Room charges $10–30, Paragon $25 and Gabriela $5–20, while Nowadays is $10 with an early RSVP. Pacha New York and Knockdown Center price each night separately, so check the event page.
A few. Basement runs Friday nights from 22:30 to 07:00, Nowadays' Saturday Nonstop continues into Sunday, and Knockdown Center runs some day-and-night events until 05:00. No alcohol is served after 04:00.
See which clubs and bars are open right now, who is playing and where to get tickets. Live in four cities, with more on the way.
